Doubts About Iran Because of Iraq

Published: February 14, 2007

You report that Philip D. Zelikow, who until December was the top aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said American politics and the increased unpopularity of the war in Iraq are obscuring the larger issue of the Iran evidence. ''People have lost their moorings,'' Mr. Zelikow said.

You report, ''He said the administration was trying to overcome public distrust by asking, in essence, 'Don't you trust our soldiers?' ''

We have not lost our moorings. The administration lost its moorings some years ago. The answer to Mr. Zelikow's question is that we trust those soldiers who are neutral and objective, and many are. But the Bush administration has for years bullied and cherry-picked the officers and intelligence personnel who will toe its neocon party line.

At this point, how can we the American people trust anything that comes out to us?

John Carlton-Foss
Weston, Mass., Feb. 13, 2007

To the Editor:

The people have not ''lost their moorings.'' After the Iraq fiasco, this dishonest administration has lost all credibility. When do we begin to hear about ''smoking guns'' and ''mushroom clouds'' in Iran?

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said in an interview: ''I think that Americans have made a mistake in Iraq and unfortunately are losing, and this is a shame for Americans of course, and that's why they are trying to point their fingers to other people, and pointing fingers to others will not solve the problem.''

Unfortunately, he is right. Since President Bush will not admit his historic failure and wants to prolong the disaster, it is up to Congress to bite the bullet and stop supporting the slaughter of our troops by immediately cutting off money for the war. Doing so will not incur the wrath of many voters.